Positive COVID-19 case numbers continued to rise by around 32 cases on Saturday, June 13, according to the Unified Government’s COVID-19 webpage.
Wyandotte County reported 31 new cases from Thursday at 1:30 p.m. to Friday at 4 p.m., and 32 new cases from Friday at 4 p.m. to Saturday at 4 p.m. The number of deaths remained the same, at 76. There were 24 new cases from 4:40 p.m. Wednesday to Thursday afternoon.
Wyandotte County’s COVID-19 page reported 13 hospitalizations and 503 recoveries on Saturday. Hospitalizations are recorded by the place of the patient’s residence.
The University of Kansas Health System saw a surge from nine cases to 18 in a week. KU Health System reported 15 patients on Friday morning, a decrease of three since Thursday, according to Dr. Dana Hawkinson, director of infection prevention and control at KU Health System. Seven patients were in the intensive care unit, a decrease of one since Thursday, and three remained on ventilators.
According to doctors, it could be the first wave of patients who were exposed to COVID-19 over the Memorial Day weekend. The number of COVID-19 patients at the hospital had increased from nine patients the week before.
The state of Kansas reported 11,047 cases with 243 deaths on Friday morning, according to data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. It was an increase of 235 cases since Wednesday. There were three more deaths since Wednesday.
On Friday morning, Dr. Hawkinson was on a video news conference from a Florida beach. He said if this was four weeks from now, there was probably a good chance he wouldn’t be able to go on vacation, as COVID-19 cases in the United States are increasing. He said people planning to travel have to be aware of the conditions; he said he was ready to cancel his trip in case he had to, three days before he left.
Dr. Dave Lisbon, an emergency department physician at KU Health System, said on Friday that they had been seeing an increase in volume, as patients have begun to come back. During the height of COVID-19 at the hospital, the numbers of total patients had declined to levels he had never seen before, he said. Some of those who have been coming back were sicker after putting off care, he said, and more were being admitted to the hospital.
Dr. Lisbon said while the death rate from COVID-19 has slowed and the new case rate was flattening, they had not beaten the virus yet. While it’s not the same as the earlier height of the virus, there have been some spikes after Memorial Day. He advised people to avoid large gatherings and continue wearing a mask. While people may be tired of staying at home and socially distancing, he said it would result in a surge of new cases if they let up now.
Patrick Sallee, Vibrant Health CEO, said on Friday that his organization has just observed 30 years as a community health center, caring for patients in Wyandotte County, and talked about its affiliation with the University of Kansas Health System. Vibrant Health was formed from the 2018 merger of Turner House Clinic, which opened in 1990, with Silver City Health Center and KU Pediatrics Clinic at the Children’s Campus Kansas City.
According to Sallee, COVID-19 knows no boundaries and easily can spread between counties.
Vibrant Health has been offering free pop-up COVID-19 testing to Wyandotte County residents three times a week, he said. The tests are offered in conjunction with the UG Health Department. While at first there were about 100 people coming to the pop-up tests each day, that has declined to 35 to 40, he said. He is concerned that they’re not testing enough people to stay on top of the virus.
There are no appointments necessary for the free pop-up tests. The location of the pop-up test changes to different places in Wyandotte County.
Pop-up tests in the coming week, according to the UG COVID-19 website, include 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, June 15, at All Saints Catholic Church, 811 Vermont Ave.; 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, at Kansas City Community Church, 5901 Leavenworth Road; and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at Roswell Church of Christ, 2900 Roswell Ave. More information is at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19.
There also are other test sites in Wyandotte County, listed at the UG COVID-19 website.
Sallee also said Vibrant Health has begun seeing more patients through telehealth, which eases fears about in-person visits. They also experienced a decline in patients for a few months before patients started coming back.
When discussing the financial crunch that some patients are under, Sallee said groups in Wyandotte County, including the Wyandotte County Economic Development Council, have done a lot of work to improve some of the health care and inequity issues. Studies have shown that health care is affected by income, and there are efforts going on to raise median household income in Wyandotte County, he said.
Dr. Lisbon said there often is a question of access to health care based on income. Factors that might affect a person’s decision on whether to seek health care might include regular access to health care providers, insurance, employers who let them have time off, and patients who have child care.
Dr. Hawkinson said the KU Health System provides patients with the best care and best quality possible, regardless of their income. He said if he had COVID-19, he would want to get the best treatment earlier and not wait, and the sooner the patient is diagnosed, the better.
Also at the Friday morning news conference, Dr. Hawkinson answered some questions about the safety of a couples dance, a scout campout and antibody testing.
Dr. Hawkinson said he would avoid a couples dance indoors, where 50 people are planning to gather. If people are dancing, it will be hard to keep a mask on without feeling claustrophobic or not getting enough oxygen, he said, so it’s something he would avoid. He said it reminded him of the case earlier this year where a choir practice in another city spread COVID-19.
An 8-day campout with 200 kids and adults, with a communal tent, and tents where people gathered to fill water bottles sounded pretty risky to Dr. Hawkinson. There are a lot of people together, like the recent protests, and they might be coming together a little bit for programs. The most dangerous part is a communal water source, Dr. Hawkinson said.
A communal water source is frequently identified as spreading infection, according to Dr. Hawkinson. Ways to reduce the risk as much as possible might include taking out the communal activities, he added.
On a question about antibody testing, Sallee said they are not using it currently in Wyandotte County. They are exploring and studying it, but at the present time they don’t see it as helpful to diagnosis or treatment.
Dr. Hawkinson said they have been looking at antibody testing, but it isn’t clear how it would help on an individual level. Antibody testing would be good for seeing how COVID-19 has passed through the community, he said. But unless an individual is donating convalescent plasma, he doesn’t see how it would be of much use to the individual at this point. It possibly could be used in college athletics to evaluate if an athletic has had the COVID-19 infection, and then prompt a cardiac evaluation, he added.
The KU doctors’ news conference is at https://www.facebook.com/kuhospital/videos/3052040281541747/.
The state’s COVID-19 test page is at https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/280/COVID-19-Testing
The UG’s COVID-19 information page is at https://alpha.wycokck.org/Coronavirus-COVID-19-Information.
Wyandotte County is currently under Phase 3. See covid.ks.gov.
The state plan’s frequently asked questions page is at https://covid.ks.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Reopening-FAQ_5.19.2020_Final.pdf.
Test sites are listed on the Wyandotte County website at https://wyandotte-county-covid-19-hub-unifiedgov.hub.arcgis.com/pages/what-to-do-if-you-think-you-have-covid-19
The CDC’s COVID-19 web page is at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.